Food aid set to return

2:06PM BST 25 Sep 2001

THE World Food Programme has said it will resume attempts to supply aid to 1.6 million people in the north of Afghanistan.

Its spokesman Trevor Rowe said he hoped the Taliban would agree to co-operate with the mission. He said: "We will be relying on commercial trucking to go into Afghanistan and so far the security, we are told, is adequate so we hope we will be able to do this."

He added that the operation was working on a trial basis. He said around 320,000 people were in "urgent need" because their food stocks were expected to run out next week.

"Ideally it would have a longer term purpose, but everything is contingent on conditions on the ground," he said.